She quickly made her way to the tub, not even increasing the lighting in the room.  She gloried in the tub.  It had been too long since she had this luxury.   Her thoughts drifted back to the past seven days where she has spent in time in the brig.  At first she was furious with Chakotay for sentencing her, but she realized she needed to take responsibility for her actions.  What troubled her most had been the fact that he had made no attempt to visit her or even speak to her while she was there.  Was he that disappointed in her?  She had done what she believed to be right.  She hoped he would be able to understand that.   

The planet of Jettus Four appeared to be an advanced people until she traveled across the Western Hemisphere.  She was shocked that a planet with their technology and resources would allow an entire country to starve and die.  She had tried to convince the leaders of Jettus Four to combine their efforts to save the people of the small continent.  Their pettiness and greed caused them to hide behind the politics of their planet and refused to help.  She had made up her mind that Voyager needed to persuade the planet’s government to see differently. 

Chakotay disagreed.  To force Voyager on Jettus Four would be no better than Starfleet forcing the Federation into submission.  He didn’t condone the government’s actions, but he refused to get involved.  He had canceled trading negotiations and would be leaving the planet as soon as the last away team returned.  As a compromise, he allowed her to take a shuttle filled with foods to the hungry western side of the planet.  She had other plans. 

Janeway attempted to disable the main generator that powered all of the planet’s replicators.  Tuvok discovered her on the wrong side of the planet with inappropriate intentions.  Chakotay ordered her to stop immediately and return to Voyager.  She stubbornly ignored her Captain and plotted a course into the generator.  Moments before the shuttle crashed, she beamed herself to Voyager.

Chakotay was livid with her, but his calm exterior didn’t show it.  Only Janeway saw the smoldering in his eyes.  Voyager had to remain in orbit around Jettus Four an additional two days in order to help in repairs to the generator.  Luckily, the government believed the crash to be an accident and Chakotay thought it was best to leave it at that.  The up side to all of this was that the panic of the people of the planet experienced over the loss of their replicators caused the government to re-evaluate their position on helping the starving.   

She didn’t regret what she had done, except for the fact that she felt as if she had betrayed Chakotay.  She had done what she believed to be right, but at what cost?  Was it worth losing the man she loved?  She had done a lot of soul-searching sitting in the empty cell.  She feared that he would never trust her again, but surprisingly enough he had given her access to his quarters the same day she was released from the brig.  His trust in her was unwavering and she knew her decision so long ago to give over control to him had been the best thing she had ever done.  She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t hear Chakotay’s entrance.

“Are you still in there?” He asked jokingly, but his laughter stopped quickly when he heard a loud splash.

“I was waiting for you to join me. I need help washing my back.”

“I’m rather hungry.  How about joining me for dinner instead?”  He sidestepped her invitation.

She appeared wearing one of his shirts again.  The shirt never looked so appealing.  She continued to distract him as she set the table.  Each time she bent over, the shirt would rise exposing more and more of her legs and rear.  He turned away from her and began to program the replicator for their dinner.  As they ate he questioned her about the mining mission she had finished, hoping to get some kind of clue as to what had happened to her on the planet.  As the conversation went on, she realized he was looking at her as if she were a total stranger.  And to him maybe she was.  His First Officer had done the unthinkable.  The look on his face made her regret hurting him with her recent behavior.  They moved to the couch for coffee, and she finally couldn’t take it any more.

“You’re still mad at me for crashing the shuttle, aren’t you?”  She charged.

She crashed a shuttle?  Now there’s a switch.  He decided to play along; it was more information than he had gotten during dinner.  He tried to look angry.  “Of course, I’m still mad.”  I only hope you’ll tell me why.

“I know I disobeyed a direct order by crashing that shuttle, but I did what I thought was right.”  She was pleading for his understanding.

“But you didn’t consider how your actions would effect this ship?”  He countered, at least now he had an idea of what she was talking about. 

“At the time I thought I was, but now I’m not so sure.  I expected you to understand.  I didn’t expect you to throw me in the brig.  But you were right.  The crew would have become disgruntled if you would have granted leniency to your lover.  How will anyone ever be able to trust me again?”

“A captain must have complete trust in their first officer.  The command team must trust each other and the crew will follow suit.”  He sounded harsher than he had intended, but she paid no attention to it.  She eased her way onto his lap and took his face in her hands, making him look into her eyes.

“I trust you body and soul.”  Kathryn told him.

She was sensuous yet solemn and he became astonished by the strong feelings she was invoking from him.  Her lust was for him was intense, but even more intense was her love for him.

“Computer, engage privacy lock Janeway omega three.” 

“Privacy lock engaged.”

Her smile brightened and her intentions were very transparent.  When her hands began caressing the inside of his thighs and he stood up quickly dropping her to the floor.  She mistook his actions as an invitation.  She kneeled before him with a devilish smile on her face as she reached for his pants.  He stepped back wishing desperately that this woman was the Kathryn he had spent the last seven years loving.  She gave him a puzzled look.  He frantically tried to think of a justified reason why he didn’t want to make love to her without causing suspicion.  The problem was no excuse came to mind.  The truth was he wanted Kathryn, had always wanted her and given the opportunity he would never pass up any chance to make love to her.  Even with the insight that this woman before him was not the Kathryn he knew he still had a difficult time resisting.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do this.”  He just had to come out with the truth.  She giggled taking his hands.

“When have you ever disappointed me?”

“I…I… I’m not the Chakotay you think I am.” She stared at him, not sure how to react.  “and you’re not the Kathryn you should be.”

“What are you talking about?”  She asked, curious but not wanting to fall for one of his silly jokes.

“I can not explain it but this isn’t the Voyager you belong to.  For example, computer, where am I?”

“You are located in the Captain’s quarters.”  Janeway was not swayed yet.  Everything was as it should be.

“Who is the captain of this ship?”

“Kathryn Janeway is the captain of the Starship Voyager”

“And who is the first officer?”

“Commander Chakotay is the first officer of Starship Voyager”

She still seemed skeptical, but he continued.  “Look around you.  Why would all of your personal belongings be here if it weren’t your cabin?  Why did the first officer’s quarters have all of my belongings?”  He pointed to her computer.  “Pull up any file from the Captain’s logs and you’ll find they are your words, not mine.  Contact anyone on this ship and ask them.”

It was hard to believe, but his points did seem valid.  She started to put together several things that had seemed odd to her.  The uniforms, the lock out of hers quarters, his behavior, all of it began to make more sense.  She began to form a theory.  She tested that theory. 

“Computer, has there been anyone confined to the brig in the last seven days?”

“Negative.”  Computers can be reprogrammed, so she decided to try another test.  She always knew when Harry was lying.

“Mr. Kim?”

“Yes Captain?”  No sign of deceit there.  She looked to Chakotay, who nodded his encouragement to her. 

“Harry, I need continuos scans of the planet.”

“Yes Ma’am.”  She turned to a close friend who never lied by paging him.

“Tuvok?”

“This is Tuvok.”

“Am I the Captain of Voyager?”

“That has yet to be determined.”  She smiled at that.

“I told him of my suspicions.” Chakotay clarified for her.  “Is Kathryn Janeway the Captain?”

“Yes”

“Thank you Tuvok.” 

“You have a lot to absorb.  I’ll leave you alone now.”  He thought this would be a gracefully way to leave.  But being alone was the last thing she wanted.  She needed companionship. 

“No, please, stay.”  Her eyes flashed with fear for a moment.  “I don’t want to be alone.”  He instantly understood.

“Did he really throw you in the brig for a week?”

“He had no choice. I disobeyed a direct order.  Our being lovers made it that much more important that I was disciplined.”  She found it ironic that she was defending Chakotay to himself.

“All the more reason to confine you to quarters.”  The words slipped out before he could stop them.  He blushed slightly as her desire shimmered in her eyes at the thought.

“I’m sorry.  That was out of line.”

“Not with me it isn’t.”  She grinned with playfulness in her voice.  “I’ve slept alone in an empty cell for a week, don’t let my first night out of the brig to be alone too.”  She was practically begging with him as she led him to the bedroom and crawled into bed.  He gave her a wary look.  He had to be honest with her.

“Lying in your bed may not be a very good idea.”

“Then just stay with me until I fall asleep.”  He couldn’t deny this Kathryn either.  His stripped to his boxers and entered the bed on the other side.  She snuggled close to him.  She whispered into his ear.

“I missed you, Chakotay.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contrary to what she believed, last night had been one of the most peaceful nights of sleep since she had arrived in the Delta Quadrant.  Foggy from sleep she felt the warmth of him besides her and soft kisses on her cheek.  She took it for remnants of her dreams, until she opened her eyes to see Chakotay’s loving eyes staring down at her. 

“Good morning, sweetheart.”  Before she could reply he slipped out of the bed.  His laughter fills the room when he noticed her averting her eyes from his naked body.  She did catch the sight of his backside by accident as he headed to the bathroom and her entire body flushed, feeling the heat spread all over her.  She had never realized until last night how fortunate she had been that the Chakotay she knew respected her parameters and never chose to move past the playful flirting they sometimes indulged in.  It was now painfully clear to her how incredibly difficult it would be to resist Chakotay if he had set his mind to seducing her.  A quick inquiry to the computer told her that she was due on the bridge in less than an hour.  She found some clothes that obviously belonged to her in his closet.  Twenty minutes later Chakotay was still in the shower.  She banged on the door.

“I need to use the bathroom too.”

“I’m not stopping you.”  His amused voice answered.

She had no choice but to share the bathroom with him or be late to the bridge.  And even though this was not her ship, her pride refused to allow her to arrive late.  It became easy to see her sleep over last night was not a chance happening.  Her toothbrush, hairbrush, makeup were easily accessible near the sink.  Luckily, Chakotay was completely dressed and stepped out of her way and out of the bathroom.  She finished getting ready in peace.  Or so she thought.  When she turned to leave she realized he had been watching her from the doorway.  She gave him a questioning look.  Did she do something that would clue him into knowing she wasn’t the Janeway he thought her to be?

“You’re beautiful.”  He told her with his eyes shining with love.  A slight blush came across her face.  She dismissed the compliment.

“Come on, we’re going to be late.”  Walking past him towards the door, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him.  He held her closely and smiled with his dimples in full force.

“Captain’s prerogative.”  His body radiated so much heat.  Oh God, if he kisses me now, I’ll be helpless to stop him.  Mercifully, he released her and they went to the bridge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~